Collections Database

Description:
Gestural indication of a figure of a horse emerging from a black background.

Label Text:
Print from Two Large Aquatints depicts a frontal view of a galloping horse turned on a diagonal with two bones superimposed upon the animal’s chest. The horse emerges from a darkened background within which one can sense the full range of Rothenberg’s graphic abilities. The image has been printed in three shades of black, enhancing its richness and depth. Using the intaglio technique, including soft ground, spit bite and sugar lift, the artist creates a vigorously worked surface which reflects her painting style. In this print, one of the last that the artist made in a series exploring the equine motif, abstract geometry has been abandoned leaving only the graphic tension of the subject. The horse charges at an angle which severs the viewer’s secure relationship to the horizontal ground plane and the ambiguous symbolism of the ghost-like bones adds an emotional dimension not evident in her earlier work. No longer conceived according to a “minimal” canon, the space around the horse’s figure seems descriptive of the atmosphere in which Rothenberg chooses to activate her newer work.

Tags:
animals; horses; movement; darkness

Subjects:
Animals; Horses; Light and darkness; Aquatint

Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=UM+1981.30

Research on objects in the collections, including provenance, is ongoing and may be incomplete. If you have additional information or would like to learn more about a particular object, please email fc-museums-web@fivecolleges.edu.